The Smarty Pants’ Top 10 Business Card Boo-Boo’s!

by: Patricia Simoneau



Business cards are the quintessential business-marketing tool. Whenever you go anywhere or have a conversation with anyone – about anything – you could be asked at any moment…

“Do you have a business card?”

Odds are the answer is ‘yes’. (And if not, it really should be!)

Here’s the real kicker though…just what is your card saying about your business?

Your business card is a mobile sales force for your business. It has to communicate everything about you, your business, your products and services in a glance. It has to reflect your brand… and it has to do all this even when you’re not around to provide back-up support!

Yes, you might hand your card to a prospective customer at an event or meeting, and they may add it to their contact file. Or they may pass it along to someone else who they think could use your help. THAT is the audience you need to think about when you are setting up your business card for printing… the person that has NO IDEA who you are or what you do!!

So to help you get the most out of your business card and make it an effective marketing tool for your business, I’ve created the Smarty Pants’ Top 10 Business Card Boo-Boo’s list. I split the list in two to keep this all in bite-size portions.

Ready?

Boo-Boo #10. Lack of clarity with phone numbers.

It’s been the norm in more urban regions for years, so for them this looks like a no-brainer. But it’s only been in the past year that we in Alberta had to start using the three-digit area code prior to our local phone numbers. (Heck, I can still remember my Aunt and Uncle’s farm being on a party line! Dating myself, I know…)

Don’t assume that people will “just know” that you live within a certain area code. GIVE it to them. You also must assume too that your card will travel outside your local trading area – in fact, that’s what you WANT. Chuck the old cards that don’t have the area code and spring for a reprint.

Using too many contact numbers is also a fatal flaw. First of all, it crowds the space available – you do have limited real estate to work with here. Keep it to one phone number, one fax number, one email and your web address. If you are in an industry where a cell phone is deemed necessary – like real estate – then add that too… but that’s it!! Adding more than that simply makes it more difficult for customers to contact you. And you want to make it easy for them, right?

Boo-Boo #9. Using illegible fonts.

Improper font use is one of my personal bug-a-boos. The wrong font on a card flashes like a neon-sign: “This card is a D.I.Y. project!”

There’s a trend with young folks now in the “Goth” movement to use a lot of Old English fonts… don’t do it! Same rule applies for fancy script, and even some scrapbooking or handwritten fonts. You can’t read them!

Stick with clear sans serif or classic serif fonts. Remember that the smaller the font, the more white space you need around it to keep it legible too.

Which is another point really… nothing smaller than 8 or 9 pt. in size, depending on the font used. A VERY general rule of thumb: Your name in 10 – 12 pt size, everything else 8 – 10 pt. Use bold face on your name, phone number and web address – everything else use a regular weight. If your data doesn’t fit in the space you have, start cutting information… you obviously have too much going on.


Boo-Boo #8. Cramming on too much information.

You’re not writing your life story here. Too many people try to make their business card act as a brochure or worse yet, a web site. Remember: limited real estate. Use wisely.

Keep the information to the essentials: Your name, your business name, your tag line (if you have one, and it’s advised), and your basic contact information from Boo-Boo #10 above (phone, fax, email and web address).

As for all those fancy letters behind your name for all those degrees you earned… the only places I’ve ever seen them have ANY significance is in legal/financial professions (LLB, CA, etc.), medical practices and post-secondary education system.

My first job was at an agricultural college, and there were occasions when I had to have an entire line of text dedicated to someone’s tickets and degrees! It was ridiculous, really. Out in the world of private business, all those letters just looks like alphabet soup.

The only time I saw people listing those degrees was in situations of professional certification. For example: if having a P.Eng. behind your name is essential to bidding on contracts, then put that on. Save the B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., etc. for your bio page on your website.

Boo-Boo #7. Can’t read the business name.

Oh yeah, it happens. Small businesses try to get ‘fancy’ with their business card or logo design, and jumble up the text, or have the name running in a circle so you don’t know where the starting point is. Talk about the frustration of chasing your tail.

This is your business, not a Grade 6 art project! Make sure that people can read your business name at a glance. If you’re not sure, show a few friends or customers hard copy samples of some of your ideas, and get their feedback. (I’m a professional designer, and I always ask for a look from “fresh eyes”.)

In truth, businesses are well advised to hire a professional designer to create their logos. But that’s another article…

Boo-Boo #6. Confusion between the business name and the tag line.

Sometimes the tag line sounds more like the business name, and vice versa. And if both are equal size and prominence on the card, there’s a double-whammy.

Easy solution: Your business name should be the largest piece of text or graphic on the business card. It should be eye-catching and the main focal point of your card – no one will be able to miss it. Your tag line should be smaller and secondary to that. Putting the tag line in italics or in quotation marks is a great way to say what it is you are selling.

That’s probably plenty to digest for now. You might want to pull out your own business card and have a look to see if you have any of these oopsies going on already!


Boo-Boo #5. Lack of clarity about what you do.

Often we think that we created the perfect message about our business because it has significance to us… but we forget that it may mean nothing to our prospective customer.

Going to the extreme, I know entrepreneurs that have actually changed their business names two or three times, simply because they got more clear and specific about the kind of work and service they wanted to provide.

I’m willing to bet the issue is less about a business name and more about the business brand. You have to clarify who your intended audience is, and what you can do to help them. Get that right, and you remove all doubt.

Boo-Boo #4. Using “free” card services.

Vista Print is a company that provides free business cards for small businesses. Yes, I said free. Now before you get excited about the prospect of getting something for free, remember that there is always a trade-off. And in this case there are two.

The first trade-off is that they use YOUR card to advertise THEIR services. You only get to print on one side of the card, because on the back they advertise their business with a blurb like “Get YOUR free business cards at vistaprint.com” So instead of possibly using the back side of your card to promote your business, it is busy selling theirs.

Secondly, you have a limited selection of pre-printed card options from which to choose. And guess what? There are going to be THOUSANDS of other cards floating around out there that look just like yours. So much for making your marketing memorable and standing out from the crowd.

There’s one last sour note that customers pick up when they get one of these ‘free’ cards – especially when it says right on the back of your card that you did indeed get it for free. It tells the prospective customer:

“I’m cheap and don’t value my business enough to spend money on one of my most central marketing pieces, so you might want to reconsider how much you’re willing to spend on me too.”

Not a resounding endorsement from the company CEO.

Boo-Boo #3. Using stationery store “punch out” cards.

This is a bit of a continuation of the last Boo-Boo… because the message is the same. Yes, you can buy a package of pre-cuts at Staples or Office Depot for under $10, and print them yourself on your little desktop inkjet. But the stock is a lightweight so it will feed through your printer (card weight stock is sure to jam) …and flimsy is not professional.

Customers see those little perforated edges and hear a little nest of baby birds singing “Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!”

You can have business cards printed on a digital press (most print shops have them now) in a small run of 100 for about $50 - $100. Ask for a good quality heavy-weight stock (most printers can handle 12 pt or 100 lb card). And ask to see a proof before having them print the whole works. It’s a great way to get started, especially if the business is new and you want to test the card before settling on a final design.

For a start-up it’s an economical solution… not “Cheap!”

Boo-Boo #2. The card does not match the services and products you sell.

The quality of the card – its design and print production – should match the level of products and services you are selling. If you are selling four- and five-figure products and services, then you should be investing some solid coin on professional design, high-end paper and proper print production. Remember, your business card is your traveling salesman… it has to reflect the level of products and services you provide – in other words, it has to portray the brand that you have built.

In the Victorian era, gentlemen used “calling cards”. It was gauche to hand out a business card at a social function (and yes, there is still ‘business card etiquette’ required today too – thus the calling card is making a comeback). But the calling card of old carries forward some principles that business cards hold today. Here is an excerpt from a wonderful post on “The Art of Manliness” blog: (I bolded a couple of important points for the purpose of this article.)

In the 19th and early 20th century, social interaction was a richly cultivated, well-mannered affair. The tool that facilitated these interactions was the calling card… The calling card also served as a way to brand your social identity. The way your card looked and felt or the way you handed it to someone communicated your standing and relationship with the receiver.

Even in the Victorian age, a personal brand was vital.

Boo-Boo #1. No call to action.

Maybe you haven’t noticed, but you DO have a second side to your business card. Use this right, and you’ve doubled your real estate purchase and can increase interest in your business.

Are you using the other side of your card effectively? If you’re just prattling off a grocery list of all the things you do or sell, you’ve wasted that space. Make it about the customer – what benefit do they get by keeping this card handy?

Without a call to action, what is to prevent a prospect from placing your card in the round file? Give them a ‘next step’ to the relationship. We’ve seen dentists, salons and other appointment-based businesses use this space to remind customers “Your next appointment is on ____ at ___ a.m./p.m.” It’s a great way to assure repeat business.

Provide a coupon on their first purchase in your store. Offer a free report from your website. Use it as a ‘punch card’ – buy 10, get one free. These are all commonly used methods of giving people a reason to keep your card handy, to call you or visit your website. Give it some thought, and get creative.

Here’s an excellent example – the best I’ve seen yet:

A friend of mine is a very successful car salesman at a Ford dealership (he’s one of the best Ford has in Canada). When he handed me his business card, it looked like a typical corporate-issue dealership card. Clear printing, high quality, easy to read, large boldface on his name, accessible contact information, and the Ford logo. And obviously I know Ford builds and sells cars and trucks.

Then I flipped the card over. On the back he had printed an image of a miniature $100 bill… and space to write my name.

Yep. If I ever refer a customer to him – and my referral purchases a vehicle from him – my buddy will pay me $100 as a thank you for sending him the business.

Now, out of ALL the many car salesmen I know, WHO do you think I’m going to send prospective customers?

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is a business card that WORKS.